Our Australian Shepherd Has Extreme Fear Of People

by Alex Adams
(Kingston, NY)

I've had sweet Leroy since he was 1 year old. He was skittish of people then, and we worked hard taking him places to socialize him. But it was always very difficult and he only got worse. He barks at the sight of a person, no matter how far away.

We have changed our lives for Leroy. We used to enjoy company, family, and friends. Small children are no longer allowed in the house. We can't take Leroy out on walks unless we're sure there will be no one in sight.

Leroy is on Prozac to help ease his stress around people and life. It helps, but not around strangers. We work with professional trainers, but little progress has been made.

Bottom line, we don't know what to do. He's so loving and sweet to us, and eager to learn and please, but the fear of strangers is so difficult to work around. It has negatively affected our lives so much so that we can't live the way we used to or would like to.

Our last option is to rehome sweet Leroy, with a family whose lifestyle would not be affected by his fear of strangers. Have any of you dealt with this?

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